Attachment for spinning-mules.



.No 865,890. PATENTBD SEPT. 10, 1907.

R. J. HARRINGTON.

ATTACHMENT FOR SPINNING MULBS. APPLIOATIONVIILED Mn. 25, 1907.

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- @wmeooeo PATENTED SEPT. 10, 190-7. R.-J. HARRINGTON.

ATTACHMENT FOR SPINNING MULES. APIPLIOATION FILED MAR. 25. 1901.

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PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907.

In. HARRINGTON! ATTACHMENT FOR SPINNING MULBS.

APPLIOATION PYILBD' 43. 26. 1901.

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UNITED STATES ROBERT J. HARRINGTON, OF DALTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ATTACHJVIENT FOR SPTNNING-MULES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1907.

Application filed March 25, 1907. Serial N0- 364,438.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT J. HARRINGTON, a citi- Zen of the UnitedStates, residing at Dalton, in the county of Berkshire and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAttachments for Spinning-Mules; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to a yarn evener attachment for spinning mules ofthat class known as the Johnson and Bassett spinning mule, and it isapplicable to either the light or heavy type of mule. Its purpose is toprovide uniformity in the size and weight of the yarn from the bottom orinner portion of the bobbin to its top or outer portion. These machinesat present deliver the same amount of roving or stock at each draw, fromthe time the bobbins are started until they are filled, and because ofthis fact the yarn gradually becomes heavier from the time the bobbinsare about three-quarters full until they are entirely full and takenoff. The increase in the size or weight of the yarn while the lastquarter or part of the set of bobbins is being filled is due to the factthat there is a certain amount of spun yarn which does not go 011 thebobbins or cops, but is thrown off and must go into or be added to thenext delivery of roving, consequently said delivery will have to stretchless than the same amount had to stretch during the filling of the firstthreequarters of the set of bobbins, hence the yarn on the top of thebobbin is invariably coarser or heavier than that upon the bottom andmiddle portions thereof.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and practicalattachment of this character, which will a give uniformity in size andweight to the yarn, and this object is accomplished by providing betweenthe builder shoe and the roving wheel or gear of a spinning mule meansfor gradually varying the arc of rotation of the roving wheel and hencegradually diminishing the length of roving fed by the rollers at eachdraw.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafterdescribed and claimed. In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 representsa top plan view of a portion of a spinning mule, showing the applicationof my invention thereto, the roving gear being shown in engagement withits worm; Fig. 2 represents a vertical sectional view, taken on line 22of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of this improvedattachment detached; Fig. 4 represents a detail perspective view of theroving gear and the parts for operating it; Fig. 5 represents aperspective view of a modified form of connection between the buildershoe and the bell-crank; Fig. 6 represents a side elevation of amodified form of operating mechanism for the stop button, adapted forapplication to the light type of mule.

In the embodiment illustrated, 1 denotes the head of the spinningmachine, 2 the front rail thereof, and 3 the arms which support the rail2 from the head 1. These arms or brackets 3 are connected by alongitudinallyextending rod 4,which serves'as a support for the spoolstands (not shown.)

The two lower rollers 5 and 6 are connected by the usual gears 7 and aremounted in suitable brackets 8, secured upon the rail 2. On the roller 5is fixed a pinion 9, which meshes with a pinion 10 mounted on astub-shaft 11 secured to the outer end of an arm 12, carried by the rod4 and slidable thereon. A sprocket gear 13 is also fixed on thestub-shaft 11, over which a chain 14 runs to impart power to the roller5. This chain 1 1 runs over a sprocket wheel 12, made integral with onemember 12" of a clutch mounted on the shaft 4, which shaft is always inmotion while the mule is running. The clutch membel 12 is loosely andslidably mounted on the shaft 4, while the member 12 is fixed thereonand rotates continuously therewith, motion being imparted to said shaftby means not shown. The

roller 5 also carries the worm 15, which operates the roving gear 16,hereinafter described. The roving gear 16 is mounted to turn upon astationary pivot 17 pro jecting from the plate or bed 18 which isslidable on the bed plate 19, secured to the front rail 2. A plate 20,preferably in the form of a disk, is also loosely mounted on the upperend of the stud or pivot 17, above the roving gear, and has an ear orlug 21 for a purpose to be described. This plate 20 is adjustablysecured to the gear 16 by a set-screw 22, to provide for the dispositionof the lug at any desired position on the gear. The rov ing gear 16 isalso provided on its under face with a depending stop pin 23 forengaging a variable stop, herei'nafter described, whereby the arc ofrotation of the roving gear is varied. A spring 24 is attached at oneend to the roving gear 16 and at its other end to the head 1 for turningthe gear in one direction, and the worm 15 turns it in the otherdirection against the tension of its spring A bell-crank lever 25 isfulcrumed to the frame of the mule,adjacent to the roving gear 16, andthe vertical arm 27 thereof projects through an aperture in the rovinggear bed plate 18 and is provided with a laterallyextending arm 28,having its end 29 bent at right angles thereto in position to engage anotch in the downwardly-curved member 31 of a double-arm trip-lever ortrigger pivoted on the roving gear bed plate 18, adjacent to therovinggear. This trigger is approximately L-shaped, with its short arm 32thereof extending over and in close proximity to the upper face of theroving gear and it is preferably made in the form of a dog or pawl.

stopped.

Attached at one end to the arm 27 of the bell-crank lever 25 is a spring33, which is connected at its other end to the frame 1, and this springholds the arm 26 of the bell-crank lever 25 normally in horizontalposition ready to be engaged by a mule carriage, (not shown) on itsinward movement, and the tooth Ol' lug 29 of the arm 28 is held normallyout of engagement with the arm 31 of the trigger. Secured to the bedplate 19 is a bearing plate 35 having a longitudinal slot or recess 36in its upper face, and an opening 37 in its end which communicate withthe recess 36. Slidably mounted in said slot or recess 36, with one endextending through the opening 37, is a slide 38. On this slide 38,preferably near its inner end, is an apertured lug 39, which extendsabove the face of the block 35, and extending through the aperture inthis lug is a push button or pin 40 having a head 41. disposed on saidpin, between the head 41 thereof and the lug 39, to prevent jarringthereof when engaged by the pin 23 on the roving gear. A nut 43 issecured on the outer end of the pin 40 and holds it securely in place.

When the mule carriage moves inwardly and depresses the arm 26 of thebell-crank 25, the arm 27 thereof is pulled forward and brings with itthe plate 18 and the gear 16 in position for the latter to mesh with itsworm 15, which being in motion turns the gear in the direction of thearrow a. At the same time, the lug 29 engages the notch 30 of thetrigger arm 31, whereby it is locked in this position until released, aswill be hereinafter described. The rotating worm 15 moves the gear 16 inthe direction of the arrow (1, and the roving is delivered thereby untilthe lug 21 on the plate 20 engages the toe of the trip arm 32, and thusdisengages the arm 31 thereof from the lug 29. The bell-crank 25 andsaid lever is drawn backward by its spring 33, carrying with it theplate 18 and the gear 16 and disengages the latter from its worm,whereby the delivery of the roving is When the gear 16 is released fromits worm, the spring thereof turns said gear backward until the pin 23depending from its lower face strikes the spring cushioning button 40carried by the slide 38 and it remains in this position until the mulecarriage moves inward and operates the bell-crank to draw the gear intomesh with its worm, when the roving is again delivered.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4, when the set of bobbins (not shown),gradually fills from the bottom to the top, the coping or builder rail45, which is supported on the clamp 46 actuated or governed by thebuilder shoe 47, which is connected to the outer shoe (not shown) by theshaft 48, falls. These parts are supported about two inches above thefloor by a stand or bracket 49, on which the clamp 46 is mounted. Whenthe bobbins are beginning to fill, the shoe 47 remains inward or towardthe left until the clamp 46 rises above the point where the shoe 47 nowappears on Fig. 3 of the drawings. The clamp 46 slides up and down inthe bracket 49, carrying with it the builder rail 45, as the shoe 47works from the left to right and vice versa, and, as the bobbinscontinue to fill, the shoe 47 moves gradually outward toward the rightcauses the clamp 46 and rail 45 to drop slightly toward the floor orlower part of the shoe 47. In the outward course of the shoe a lug 50 onthe shaft 48 on which the shoe 47 is mounted comes in contact with acollar 51 on a parallel shaft 52 and draws said shaft toward the Acoiled cushioning spring 42 is right against the tension of its spring53. This movement of the shaft 52 draws the arm 54 of the bell-cranklever outward and its upper arm 55 down, which in turn draws through thelink 56 a crank-arm 57 downward and said arm 57 being keyed to arock-shaft 58 turns said shaft and draws the arm 59 back or outward,whereby the rod 60 with its tiu'n-buckle 61 and thumb screw 62, which isconnected to the slide 38, is drawn outward. As the bobbins graduallyfill, the stop button 40 through the mechanism connecting it with thebuilder shoe, is moved gradually forward so that on each inward movementof the mule carriage, which connects the gear with its worm, the arc ofsaid gear is slightly decreased at each operation, until on the fillingof the bobbins it has ceased to turn altogether, and the bobbins arethen removed and new ones set on the machine, and the parts set inoperation to operate, as above described.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, a slightly modified form of mechanism isshown for automatically operating the outwardly-working stop button 40.This mechanism differs from that shown in Fig. 4 only in the operatingmeans between the builder shoe 47 and the rod 52. In this form, thebuilder shoe 47 has a longitudinally-adjustable lug 50 projectingtherefrom, which, on the outward movement of the shoe,

engages a lug or' stop 51 adjustably mounted on the rod 52 by means of aset-screw 52. An adjustable support for the rod 52 is shown in the formof a bracket 65, one member 66 of which is secured to the floor and theother member 67 is carried by the rod 52 and adjustably connected by aset-screw 68 with the member 66 through registering slots 69 and 70 inthe respective members.

In Fig. 6 is shown means for operating a verticallymovable stop button'40 on a light pattern mule. The connection between the rod 52 and theshoe 47 is the same as in the other forms and hence will not be heredescribed. The bell-crank connected with the rod 52 is placed in reverseposition to that of the other forms, so that when the rod 52 is drawnforward, the arm 55 of said bell-crank is pushed upward. Connected tothe arm 55 is a telescoping rod having a set-screw 76 for adjusting itat any desired length. The upper member 77 of this rod 75 has alaterally-extending arm 78 with its end 79 bent upwardly at right anglesthereto and connected by a joint 80 with an L-shaped member 81, in thelateral arm 82 of which the shank of the button 40 is mounted. Thisjoint provides for the easy working of the rod in its bearing.

With the mechanism hereinbefore described it is possible to commencesooner or later to shorten the arc of the roving gear and to cut offmore or less roving during the time in which the evener is in operation.

The right is reserved to use a turn buckle, an auxiliary pin or in itsplace a single and connected rod for the turn buckle or any othersuitable means.

I claim as my invention,

1. A yarn evener attachment for spinning mules comprising a roving; gearhaving a stop on its lower face and a lug on its upper face, a variablestop arranged in the path of the stop on the lower face of the rovinggear, means for operating said gear, an approximately L-shaped triplever pivotally mounted adjacent to said roving gear with its short armarranged over the upper face of the roving gear in position to beengaged by the lug on said gear, a bell crank lever fnlcrnmed adjacentto said roving gear and having one arm arranged to engage the long armof said trip lever, and means for holding the other arm of said bellcrank lever in position to be engaged by the mule carriage.

2. In a spinning mule, the combination with a builder shoe and a rovingdelivery-controlling gear having a stop, of a slide having a stop tocoact with said geai carried stop, a rock-shaft operating saidstop-carrying slide, an arm upon said shaft, :1 bell-crank, a linkconnecting said arm and said bell-crank, a rod connected to the otherarm of said bell-crank, collars secured to said rod, a coiled springupon said rodbetween said collars, a lug secured to said builder shoeshaft and adapted to engage said rod and draw it back to operate saidstop-carried slide and vary the arc of movement of said roving gear.

3. In a spinning mule, the combination of a shaft having a builder shoesecured thereto, a clamp mounted to ride on said shoe and having abuilder rail connected thereto, an apertured lug secured to said shaft,a shaft mounted to slide loosely in the'aperture on said lug and havinga collar thereon, outside said lug, another collar secured to saidshaft, a spring arranged on said shaft between said lastanentionedcollarand said apertnred lug, a roving delivery controlling gear having a stoppin on its lower face, a plate having an adjustable lug for engagementwith said pin, and operating means between said plate and saidlast-mentioned shaft for moving said lug to vary the arc of movement ofsaid gear.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

ROBERT J. HARRINGTON.

Witnesses EDWARD MCCAULEY, JOSEPH A. DALY.

